Cash truly is king. That’s especially true when looking at dividend stocks. Perhaps nothing matters more to dividend stocks than cash flows and balance sheet health. These two factors are probably the two biggest determinants of whether a firm can significantly grow their payout down the line. Or more importantly, keep a high-yield going. After all, you can “fake” earnings-per-share with accounting tricks, but you can’t fake how much money a firm has in the bank. So, it stands to reason, that investors looking for big-time dividends, should focus not on just initial yield, but on a firm’s cash/cash flows. But what dividend stocks are truly “cash rich” and have plenty of Franklin’s in cash flows and hoarded away on their balance sheets? Here are five that fit the bill perfectly.
The biotech sector isn’t normally someplace investors go to find dividend stocks. However, when you’re one of the first biotech’s to have major blockbusters under your belt, you can’t help but generate billions in cash flows. And that’s just the case with Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). Satya Nadella could end up being the most important person in Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) history besides Bill Gates. Nadella was responsible for sparking the recent renaissance at Mr. Softy and took the software company to the cloud. When it comes to dividend stocks, it’s good to be the king. And downstream player Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) just happens to wear the crown. I know what you’re thinking. A 0.70% dividend? I came here for dividend stocks, not a token payout. But that small yield at Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is truly masking one of the market’s best dividend growth stories around. When looking for dividend stocks with big cash flows and balances, the best plays often have little to no overhead or capital spending. With that idea in mind, there’s a reason why Warren Buffett owns shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO).